A "court statement" posted by Thomas on her Twitter yesterday ruled that there was "no basis" to accuse her of blackmail and acknowledged that she had been "motivated by a desire to avoid the publication of private information".

"To suddenly have to defend my character because of this legal process has been extremely upsetting and stressful," she said. "I'm just relieved that the parties and the court now accept that I'm no blackmailer. I have been vindicated and that's all I wanted."